Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Paige Boston, 20059659
Appeals Letter

Dear Associate Dean of Studies,

I am formally appealing to drop PHIL271 (Winter, 2019) and POLS243 (Fall, 2018) and appeal for a CR Standing in FREN250 (Winter, 2019) and POLS250 (Fall & Winter, 2019)

This year I was faced with an unforeseen acute mental health issue that I experienced briefly in my first year at Queen¿¿s, but the extent was much less severe and less frequent. Therefore, the condition went undiagnosed and unchecked by a medical professional as I was, by my own estimation, fine. During the fall term of my second year at Queen¿¿s, my condition reared its head, but I was not sure if it was a brief challenge I was facing- a slump in my mood or my motivations- and thus continued my studies and living my life as well as I could. I provided my own excuses for how I was feeling, and categorized what was going on with me as an academic shock going from first year to second year- something I had heard a lot of students experience. However, the nature of my condition is that it comes on randomly, and can worsen and better sporadically- and this was something I had yet to learn. I made it through the fall term relatively unscathed, and set my priorities on performing better in the winter term. Then winter rolled around, and despite my best efforts, my issue seemed to only worsen. Once my marks started getting affected, it only made my issue worse, too- it was like an inescapable cycle.

In some of my courses, the ones I truly enjoyed and/or connected with the professors or teaching assistants more than others, I managed to work out a solution. Once I realized my situation was abnormal and even physical, I went to the doctor¿¿s office and thus got my extenuating circumstances form submitted, allowing myself to focus as well as I could on my upcoming exams- which I cannot say was without challenge. I made it through exams season but I still had work to do for my courses, and that is when my condition popped up again. Even though it was summer, and I was back home in a comforting environment, I couldn¿¿t control what was involuntarily happening to me, despite the steps I took to try and solve the issues it had confronted me with before.

Now it is August, and I am in correspondence with three of my professors, arranging to finish up those courses. I have a better grasp and understanding of what is going on with me, and can better identify when it¿¿s happening. However, as this is something I¿¿d never experienced before, it is still very unpredictable. The fact remains is that I was, and still am, learning about my issue and trying various methods to cope with it. No matter how hard I tried to redeem myself, my second year grades were not at all what I had hoped. Despite my efforts to wrap up my courses, I know the grades I am finishing with are not the grades I would have achieved if I wasn¿¿t affected by my mental illness so suddenly- particularly, these courses are POLS243, PHIL271, and FREN250. I have an IN grade currently with my FREN250 professor, but once I complete the course before the end of the month my grade will be significantly less strong.

However, I am taking steps to help with it as much as possible. In April I paid a visit to the Queen¿¿s Counselling Services, which I found very helpful and enlightening, and I intend to make more appointments once I return to Kingston this fall. One of the counsellors there advised me to correspond with Accessibility Services about getting some extra help in light of my condition upon my return as well. To aid with limiting stress, I enrolled in more online courses this year, so I can do the work at a more casual pace, and took courses that I found would lighten the overall quantity of my coursework. I am open to re-taking one, if not all, of the courses aforementioned should my appeal for CR standing be denied. I would love nothing more than to close this unsettling chapter in my life and move forward. The supporting documentation I will submit in upcoming weeks should show that I am not taking advantage of this opportunity to right my wrongs.

I consider myself, in spite of my sudden mental illness, to be an ambitious, goal-oriented, and driven student. To achieve these goals, all I am asking for is a chance to wipe my slate clean. Never in a million years did I think this was how a part of my university experience would go, but I truly am doing everything I can to rewrite the past.

I thank you for your consideration.

Paige Boston